FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

Dwayne Bowe, Chiefs –
Bowe has simply had an incredible seven weeks.  In fact, it is arguable that he’s the best receiver in the game over that stretch – statistically speaking at least.  He’s averaging 104 yards and two touchdowns a game over that period with 49 receptions.  Whatever he changed, it is working, and if it keeps up he’ll be in the running for the top receiver at the end of the season.

Wes Welker, Patriots –
Welker is finally fully healthy and it shows.  After a sizeable slump compared to his own standards, he’s put in a nice three game run, catching 21 of 29 passes thrown his way for 237 yards and three touchdowns.  He’s now a scoring threat in all scoring systems, which is what made him one of the top receivers in fantasy circles the past couple of seasons.  Look for a strong finish.

Terrell Owens, Bengals –
Owens went from one of the hottest receivers in the league to just average.  In the past three weeks he’s only caught ten passes (of twenty-five targets) for 144 yards and one touchdown.  These are not simply reminiscent of his struggles, but of the team’s struggles as a whole, but that doesn’t matter much to fantasy owners.  What matters is that he’s not performing at the same level he was, and therefore drops in the ranking projections.

Braylon Edwards, Jets –
Edwards has again become the type of receiver you hope gets a touchdown every week because without it he won’t get you many points at all.  With the rise of Santonio Holmes, he’s become the secondary target, taking a lot of fantasy points away and making fantasy owners use some serious sailor language. 

Derrick Mason, Ravens –
Mason is back to doing what Mason does, year in and year out.  He doesn’t get a ton of yards, but makes catch after catch, gets his quarterback out of trouble, moves the chains, and gets a touchdown or two.  However, in the past four weeks he’s been doing that and more.  He’s caught 19 of 30 passes thrown his way, averaged 55 yards a game and almost a touchdown a week.  It isn’t top tier stuff, but it’s the stuff that helps win games.

Ben Obomanu, Seahawks –
Obomanu is taking his new role seriously, and it looks like he’s making himself very comfortable.  The Seahawks, in a terrible division, are in the playoff hunt, and with next to no running game will continue to toss the rock around, primarily to the wide receiver’s version of ‘Big Ben’.  His stat line since taking the starting job three weeks ago is impressive.  He’s caught 14 of 17 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns.  Now would be a great time to grab him if you can.

Deion Branch, Patriots –
Branch had a big flash his first week back with the Patriots, then kind of disappeared a bit.  He’s now reappeared for three weeks, garnering a respectable seventeen catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns over that stretch.  With Welker improving, Brady getting two tight ends involved and the running game finally a threat, Branch should continue to perform well.

Jacoby Ford, Raiders –
As he proved this past week, Ford is a threat in multiple ways.  He’s going to be hit or miss, but when he hits he hits big.  With Jason Campbell the starter now he could struggle just a bit, but the receivers on this team aren’t that good, and at the moment he seems to be the best option they have.  Ride him as far as he’ll take you. 

Earl Bennett, Bears –
He hasn’t ‘snapped out of it’ so to speak, but he’s obviously someone Cutler’s been looking for the past couple of weeks, making him a great option not only this week against Detroit, but at least a couple of weeks beyond.  Even his playoff week match up against the Jets could be positive as the Bears will have too many receivers for the Jets secondary to cover all the same time. 

Early Doucet, Cardinals –
All of a sudden Doucet is getting a lot more throws each week, with 24 in the past three weeks.  He’s not doing a ton of damage with them, but he’s scored once and will continue to have opportunities.  With St. Louis, Denver and Carolina coming up, he could be in for a very productive stretch.

Vincent Jackson, Chargers –
Jackson stays barely inside the top seventy, but arguably could be farther down.  He’s now out for another two weeks, and it is unlikely that he’ll be able to help fantasy owners for the fantasy playoffs even if he does come back in time.  Owners who grabbed him late on draft day and held on to him have come up with goose eggs on this gamble.